DA: Two killed in Taunton plane crash ID'd as Brockton, Bridgewater men

Monday

Aug 26, 2013 at 12:01 AMAug 26, 2013 at 2:36 AM

Two men were killed when a small plane crashed and burst into flames early Sunday morning at Taunton Municipal Airport, according to emergency management and public safety officials.

Rory Schuler and Marc Larocque

Two men were killed when a small plane crashed and burst into flames early Sunday morning at Taunton Municipal Airport, according to emergency management and public safety officials.

The crash was reported to Taunton police at 6:38 a.m. and Taunton firefighters were the first emergency responders on the scene. Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the state Department of Transportation and state police were also on the scene throughout the day as the investigation into the crash continued.

According to a press release from the Bristol County District Attorney's office sent late Sunday night, investigators have tentatively identified the two victims as pilot John Schmouth, 69, of Brockton, and passenger Roland Deslauriers, 61, of Bridgewater. The confirmed identities of the victims will not officially be known until the medical examiner's office conducts autopsies on the remains, the release stated.

It was not immediately clear whether human error, mechanical malfunction or any other factors contributed to the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the crash, said FAA spokesperson Kathleen Bergen.

“We do not have details about the accident including the aircraft type or circumstances of the accident,” Bergen said late Sunday afternoon. “The FAA is investigating. The NTSB will determine probable cause of the accident.”

Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. visited the scene and made a statement, which provided some minor details of how the crash took place. Hoye said from his understanding, the plane failed to take off correctly.

“My heart goes out to the family,” Hoye said during a brief meeting with the press. “It’s a tragedy.”

The mayor confirmed that the plane crashed into a gully near the runway on takeoff and caught on fire. He described the wreckage as appearing “dismantled.”

“There was potentially some malfunction with the plane,” Hoye said.
At the scene, police Lt. Paul Roderick said the two bodies in the wreckage were badly burned and that authorities were checking dental records to confirm their identities before releasing names.

While the FAA and the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission took over the investigation, Taunton Police Detective Robert Pavadore was the local police officer initially investigating the crash, Taunton police said.

Taunton Municipal Airport sources identified the plane as a single-engine, tail-wheel aircraft. Other sources said the aircraft was a “fabric-covered” plane, as opposed to a plane made with aluminum or another material.

Between 10 and 10:10 a.m., a series of vehicles arrived on scene, including a van from the state medical examiner’s office, a fire engine and the Taunton Fire Department’s mobile command center. The medical examiner’s van left after approximately 50 minutes.

While the investigation was ongoing, it was business as usual for many recreational pilots who continued to take off and land on the runway during the late morning and early afternoon.

However, several neighbors, curious locals and friends of suspected victims were at the scene, trying to figure out the latest details.

Bill Collins, who lives nearby, said he hears the planes take off and land at the airport like clockwork every Sunday. But on this Sunday, he heard one engine that “kind of stopped completely all of a sudden.” Collins said he didn’t hear an explosion, but later came over and saw the emergency response crews.

“We just heard the motor stopping,” Morrey said.

Rachel Pilotte, who also lived nearby, said, “It’s such terrible news.” She added that she noticed it was really foggy in the morning, wondering out loud if that may have been a factor.

One man, who identified himself as “Normand” but declined to offer his last name, said he was there at the airport because he suspected the pilot in the fatal crash was a friend of his, who he works with at TL Edwards excavation and paving, based in Avon.

“He was going to take my dad up there for a ride later on,” said the man, visibly shaken.

Michelle Littlefield, who is often at the airport where her husband gives skydiving instruction, said she talked with the other recreational air pilots in the hanger at the airport. Littlefield said the pilot was among a group of mostly retired, older men who go flying airplanes and have breakfast on Sundays.

“We call them the breakfast club,” Littlefield said. “He was a well known guy. People in the hanger that we talked to are devastated. It’s a small airport where everyone knows each other. The people here are tight.”

The last fatal crash at Taunton Municipal Airport occurred in 1988, when pilot Patrick Vadala was killed in a crash involving a used twin-engine Cessna airplane.